Psycho-educational Assessment: (pre-school, school readiness, primary school, high school, tertiary)

When learners experience difficulty, whether this is emotional or academic in nature, a comprehensive and holistic assessment allows me to investigate the possible causes of the difficulty and the strengths of the learner, and then plan interventions that will help to remedy the situation. The assessment takes place in the morning (ensuring that the learner is not tired) with either myself or Celeste. It involves a variety of assessment tools depending on the nature of the problem, the age of the learner and the school or academic institution that the learner attends.

As many learners become anxious at the thought of being assessed, great care is taken to ensure that the process is caring and nurturing so that the learners are as relaxed as possible. If a child is very anxious, parents and facilitators are welcome to stay during the course of the morning.

A pre-assessment interview is held so that the learner can visit us before the day of assessment, as this usually calms fears and anxiety. I have found that feeding the fish in the pond and stroking the bunnies in the garden usually calms nerves quite quickly.

A feedback session is held a few days after the assessment in which the parents and learner (where appropriate) are given information on the findings of the assessment in a positive and uplifting manner and a discussion around possible intervention strategies is initiated. Assessing a learner's strengths is as important as investigating areas of difficulty as this allows for the implementation of interventions that will nourish the learner's self-esteem and self-belief. For this reason parents are encouraged to tell me about their child's strengths.

A full written report is provided and where necessary a school visit to liaise with the teachers is undertaken. A respectful approach is taken to the use of labels when a diagnosis is needed.

I request that parents give me feedback on the progress of their child on a monthly or term basis over the following years, so that I can ensure that the interventions are meeting the needs of the child and I am able to tweak the interventions later if necessary.

You are welcome to contact us directly, either telephonically or via email if you have queries about the assessment process or specific tests that are used and about the costs of the assessment.